What is the purpose of high school sports? I always thought it was to teach sportsmanship, teamwork and build character. I don't see a lot of that.

What I have seen is that ability doesn't always mean as much as who you are or how much your parents kiss up or complain to the coach. What does that teach our children? I believe parents should support their children, but let the coach do their job!

Parents need to realize that everyone wants their children treated fairly. We all like to see our kids play, but some kids may excel more than others in certain areas. They can't all be superstars. Very few even go on to play on a college level, and even fewer play professionally.

What is the coach's job? Shouldn't it be to have the best interest of the team at heart? Winning is great, but do so while teaching teamwork, sportsmanship, building confidence and character. Life isn't always fair, but school sports should be.

Shouldn't athletes have the responsibility to represent their school and community in a positive way -- to do their best -- be a team player?

I have always enjoyed going to "the game" and pulling for my team, but sometimes it takes the joy right out of it when you see bad attitudes or things that just don't seem fair. Don't we all -- parents, coaches, athletes and fans -- have a responsibility to make sure high school sports are a positive experience for all involved?

We need to make sure that the lessons learned from school sports are positive ones. I'm not saying that all school sports are like this, but I have seen it a lot.

Kristy Staley

Seagrove